Gi hopped down from the old Ferrous Clan Estate, leaving Elizabeth to her guarding or brooding or whatever it was she did. Since Doyle was still out, Gi thought he might go find Tiria and have her spar with him.

"Or finally have that conversation with Rocky..." Gi said to himself. He'd been very distracted learning [Fighting Style] and hadn't followed back up on that. He continued up the path, but stopped as a humanoid monster wearing loose fitting brown britches and robe waited for him. The monster wore a white mask with red streaks that ended in fangs, covering an elongated snout.

One of The Faithful.

"The Progenitor of the Underbridge Clan I presume." Unlike the kobolds he'd met when he first spawned here, this one had a rolling accent. Gi assumed it was for show, but he'd also learned since then that the Faithful were one of the seven Sky Clans and followers of the First One. The literal God of Monsters. Gi decided to play nice.

He bowed with one fist pressed to his back, providing the Sign of the Mother. "Correct. To whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?"

"Kukdi... of the Faithful." He didn't bow back and instead kept his claws tucked into the loose sleeves of his robes. "I've come to discuss your recent acquisition of the Ferrous Clan's estates, their place within the city, and the responsibilities that come along with the decisions you've made."

Gi bit back a sigh. It felt like ever since he spawned in Igna that everyone had wanted something from him and the weeks that he'd spent training were now over. "I see," Gi said. "Please continue."

"The Ferrous Clan prior to the death of their leader were a branch clan of The Faithful, serving our interests and falling under our protection. Were you aware of this?"

Gi didn't like where this was going. "I was not."

Kukdi stepped closer, getting just outside of arm's reach. "Typically when a clan deposes one of the Ground Clan, they reach out to their associated Sky Clan and swear new loyalties. You have not done so. It's not unusual for Ground Clans to shift loyalties on a change, but I don't believe you've done that either."

So they'd expected him to come calling and he didn't. Kukdi could surely recognize him as a jobbie and if he'd observed the Ferrous Clan's Estate at all, he'd not have seen any of his species. Did he think he'd already completed the Dungeon and had his clan hidden? Gi didn't want to get involved in politics here, but he also didn't want to reveal too much.

"My apologies," Gi said with another bow, "I've simply been spending some time consolidating my forces."

"Then you intend to continue the line of fealty to the Faithful."

He'd much rather stay neutral, but Kukdi was clearly a Classer from his height. If he said the wrong thing, he might be killed immediately. Sure, there was a chance that he was a weakling like Yom had been, but even that fight had taken both him and Tiria in concert. He was stuck.

"Of course," Gi said, giving Kukdi his winningest smile. "What should I do to show my support?"

He couldn't see Kukdi's face, but he could have sworn the kobold sneered at him. "The dry season's Assembly is in three weeks just before the monsoon season starts. If any votes are cast, you will follow the example of the Faithful. Do you understand?"

Gi grit his teeth, but bowed low to hide it. "I do."

"Good." Kukdi started to walk away when he snapped his fingers as though he'd forgotten something. The motion was too smooth to be genuine though. "Ah and the matter of your tithe. You can provide that the night of the Assembly as well."

"Tithe?" Gi couldn't keep the frustration out of his voice.

"Oh, were you unaware? The Ferrous Clan was paying us a hundred gold a season. I'm sure after taking over their businesses that should be simple for you."

Kukdi walked off without looking back which was probably for the best. Gi was ready to chew rocks. How the hell was he supposed to get a hundred gold in three fucking weeks? Gi turned around to see Elizabeth standing there.

Gi turned on her. "Did you know about this?"

"The tithe? No, but it makes sense. The Ground Clans have branch clans that they protect for a price. No surprise the Sky Clans are similar. That's probably why there wasn't a lot of gold in the Ferrous Estate."

He wanted to rage at Elizabeth, but that was probably an even worse idea than yelling at Kukdi. Why was every monster stronger than him here? He tried taking a deep breath, but it didn't help a lot. "What happens if we don't pay?"

Elizabeth shrugged. "Probably death and they'll install a clan that they want in your place. I'd rather that not happen since the Encampment they think is yours is mine. You should probably pay up."

Elizabeth walked back to her estate like that had settled everything. Gi clenched his paw, but what else could he ask her? "Good talk...," Gi muttered and started back towards the Underbridge. He needed to find Tiria and talk strategies.

As he made his way back, he kept focusing on how unfair it was. Sure, he might have been involved in the destruction of a clan, but why did that suddenly make it his responsibility? Elizabeth claimed the damn crystal. Let her deal with it. But trying to get Elizabeth to do anything without coin was impossible.

That just started his whole cycle over again. What he really needed was to figure out the supposed benefits of being a Ground Clan because right now, it sucked.

Gi made it back to the Underbridge to see a couple Coastal Goblins tossing rocks at her while Jalx pressured her in melee. Jalx's two handed method of using a shield that Gi had witnessed during the battle didn't directly translate, but it looked like Tiria was getting good experience.

The two of them stopped at Gi's approach.

"We've got an issue. Let's head inside and I'll explain."

The three of them headed back towards Gi's little house in the Underbridge. When they opened the door, Poe was there and somehow both of his mouths were chewing on a stuffed pancake of some kind as he danced back and forth.

When he spotted them, his eyes went wide. "Boss!! Oh no. Oh no. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't be eating. Our poor copper!"

"It's okay, Poe. Just calm down." Poe looked up at him, giving the saddest dragonfly eyes as he swallowed the bite he'd had. "You can eat if you're hungry. Despite our money issues, we're not that broke."

Poe continued with the sad eyes. "I wasn't really hungry. My mouth was just lonely..."

Gi wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that, but it did manage to snap him out of the angry fervor he'd worked himself into. Tiria gave Gi a confused look though.

"Since when do we have money issues?"

He gave them the rundown of his conversation with Kukdi. From their silence, he assumed the danger of it hit them too.

"We don't have time for that," Tiria said finally. "We're supposed to be prepping for the Dungeon."

"I know. Elizabeth is supposed to find me a target for my Heart in a week's time."

"Your Heart?" Tiria hadn't gotten the full Knot explanation. He really needed to take notes on it and tell her how it worked.

"I'll explain later. For now, I think we need to split up. You and Jalx head to the bordello and see what we need to do to get that running again or if there's any hidden coins we missed. I'm going to go talk to Rocky about the former Ferrous branch clans' tithes. Maybe get some more information on the Ground Clans themselves. If we can't get the money, I'm tempted to just leave or stay hidden in our lake Encampment."

"Careful," Jalx cut in. "You need to be sure not to cross Elizabeth. She's doesn't take well to that."

Gi sighed. He knew that already, but she'd put him in this current position. She should understand that. He didn't trust that she did see it that way, but still. Have some self awareness, right?

"I'll meet you back here tonight."

The three of them left the Underbridge, heading towards the Bazaar. They stopped off at the Bordello which was in a much busier part of town. Somehow, the two remaining slimes were still posted up in the glass cases. He'd been fairly grossed out when he learned what those were for, but if it got them money...

After them leaving, he continued on his way to Rocky's shop which was at one of the paths that was off the main trail. A few other buildings surrounded it including a tavern that other than it's storefront was completely built into the mountain. Ignoring the other buildings, Gi stepped in Rocky's shop.

There was a goblin inside with an overly large head that must be the same species as the Captain's helper. Since Rocky was occupied, Gi got his attention and stepped into the back to wait. His anger that had cooled by Poe's antics slowly rekindled on his walk over and it wasn't improving as the wait allowed him time to consider the Faithful's demands.

When Rocky finally stepped back in, Gi practically bit off his question. "Tell me about the tithes."

If Rocky was taken aback by his rudeness, he didn't show it. Gi got the feeling that the rock golem was fairly old for a monster. Instead, he grumbled in his way and then answered. "Tithes are, in a sense, protection money. It's the only way that monsters like me can do business without another clan stealing all of our goods. It's all about balance of power."

"And the tithes to the Sky Clans?"

"I don't know much about them, but I'm aware that the Ground Clans pay their dues. The number of Ground Clan branches is considered part of a Sky Clans strength."

Gi started pacing back and forth, but Rocky calmly pulled a box out of his desk and handed it to him. "What's this?" Gi asked before opening it to reveal a bunch of silver coins.

"It's your tithe. I've always paid Ferra two gold a week. That's everything I've set aside since you took over. I figured you'd want it eventually."

Gi looked at the silver and it seemed like a lot, but compared to the hundred gold he owed the Faithful, it was a drop in the bucket. He wondered if he could even trust that this was the actual amount. Maybe Rocky was taking advantage of his ignorance to cut himself a deal. "And what about her other branch clans?"

"All the same flat rate. Including my clan, there's about seven of us."

Gi stopped pacing, taking a deep breath. He was getting far too worked up over this. He rattled off a prayer to Danna in his mind, trying to solve his worries. It helped some, but the sudden pressing money concerns still weighed on him. "All right. Tell me about my new branches."

Gi left Rocky's with his notebook full of information on the new clans- Races, Progenitor names, rough ideas of their abilities, and their locations. Rocky had expressed a concern that they might not be willing to so easily give away their money or could have signed up with another Ground Clan already.

Gi had left this loose end far too long. It was time to go hang someone with it.

His first stop was the Knives Clan. They were one of the clans that provided food in the Bazaar, buying up monster corpses and cooking them for Igna's residents. They were a strange type of creature. They were a blob of feathers that had two wings on their back with six arms and giant central eye. Their Race was called a Multilimb Lark.

Pushing aside their slightly damp curtain, he stepped into their chop shop. Various monster bodies hung from hooks where the Multilimb Larks were peeling their skin, dropping them onto a long wooden butcher's block and chopping them into manageable pieces.

There were seven Larks just in this one room and each of them beat their wings to stay aloft, creating a cacophony of noise. Gi yelled over their beating.

"I'm here to see Slice-Slice!"